Chapter Six: Home and Hearth

Three warriors stood together, in the center of a stone ring. Back to back, they scoured the shadows around them, searching for the slightest signs of movement. With the fox and the knight at her back, Viper raised her twinned revolvers, listening for the smallest sounds. Sure, realistically the fox would hear things long before she would, but she didn't plan on taking any chances. Corona glowed enough that no creeping, slithering shadows could approach unseen, but that was hardly enough for her to let her guard down. That's when she heard it, that slight, distorted hum. Viper spun, time slowing as she did. She was pleased to see that Rin had reacted almost as quickly as she did. She raised her guns, firing into the widening portal between them, preempting any attack, only to feel a hand wrap around her leg. When did that- she looked behind her, and realized that the portal had simply been a distraction, making her turn away from the more present threat.

Without releasing his hold, Oberon thrust himself out of the ground, flipping Viper, causing her to fall into the portal. She could feel a deep discomfort as her body was pulled out of, and dropped back into, reality. She sensed, more than saw, a black boot swinging towards her, and she quickly rolled out of the way, leveraging herself back into an upright position. The sight before her, though familiar, still evoked chills. In the darkness, the dull, crimson glow of her boss's blade was the only light, leaving half her body in shadow, reflecting well off the crimson of her mask and clothes. Even the white of her mask took on a reddish hue. Viper took a few steps backwards, knowing that direct confrontation would not end well for her. In the distance, she could hear the sounds of combat as the fox and the knight battled the shadow, but she dared not look away from her avian opponent.

Gritting her teeth, she pressed down on the triggers, firing at the enemy. Unfortunately, Raven simply batted the bullets away, before rushing forward. One hand ever on her sheathe, she executed a series of flourishing slashes, Viper barely managing to keep up as she pressed the attack. At the end of her attack, she slid her blade back into its sheathe to recharge its dust. This was what Viper had been waiting for, and she quickly closed for the kill. Raven saw her coming and made to redraw her blade, but Viper leapt forward, slamming a foot down on the sword's crossguard, holding it in place. Releasing her hold on the sword's hilt, Raven grabbed Viper's foot, intending to throw her, but Viper twisted, using Raven's grip for balance and leverage, up and over her opponent's shoulder, and hooked her other leg around Raven's neck.

Raven struggled to throw Viper, but snakes are rather notorious for their grip, and Viper had no intention of letting go. Leaning backwards, she caused Raven to lose balance, falling back as well. Before she hit the ground, Viper put out her hands, levering her body and throwing Raven across the room. Raven managed to right herself in the air, landing on her feet, a deeply unamused look on her face. However, being thrown meant that Viper was out of her light, and with her enhanced night vision, the faunus had a clear advantage over the boss. Raven was not the type to give up, though, and she merely turned away, walking towards the fight going on across the room. Halfway there, she whistled, calling out "Switch."

Shit. Raven continued to walk towards Corona and Rin, and Viper knew that meant she had a new opponent. Oberon. She reloaded quickly, knowing her respite was not going to last long. Okay what advantages do I have? Sight? Nope. He never seems to have trouble in the dark and can literally become a shadow. Smell? Nope. He doesn't smell like anything. Hearing? Nope. He doesn't even have the decency to rustle when he walks. Taste and touch, maybe, but letting him get that close would definitely be a bad idea. Yeah, this is gonna go just great. Sighing, she leveled her revolvers, resignation clear on her face.

"Are you done?" asked a whispering voice by her ear. She spun, whipping her guns around with her, and found Oberon right behind her, her blades passing harmlessly through his mid-section. With his right hand, he grabbed her by the face, slamming her down so that the back of her head crashed into the ground. Without her aura, it would at least have resulted in a concussion, if not shattering her skull. He pulled her head up, only to slam it back down. He repeated this process over and over, draining Viper's aura. All she could think as she futilely attempted to pry his hand off her face, was that he could have at least had the courtesy to use his sword.

Before long, her aura dropped below regulation minimum, and Oberon, released her. Helping her into a sitting position, he sat down next to her, waiting patiently for Raven to finish up with the others. They did not have long to wait, the couple's aura's buzzing out almost simultaneously. As the lights came back on, Viper looked up at the monitor. Her team, of course, were all showing red, while Oberon and Raven were still up above half. She smiled at the result. Usually, they were lucky to even touch the black themed duo, so this was quite an improvement over the norm. She climbed back up to her feet, Oberon rising next to her. She made her way over to her two teammates, then together they left the arena. As she went out the door, she saw Oberon and Raven circling each other at the center of the ring, swords extended in front of themselves.

Coming out of the arena, the three women found themselves in a windowless hallway, and Viper followed the others as they took the first door they encountered, entering a small kitchen/dining room. Rin hopped up to sit on the counter, while Corona busied herself with making sandwiches. Viper opened the fridge, pulling out a jar of pickles, then moved to the cupboard, pulling a bottle of whiskey from the top shelf, before grabbing a tumbler and pouring herself a generous serving. Corona looked over, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you still keep that up there?"

"Hey," Viper replied, acting offended. "Not all of us are of an age to drink, ya know?"

"You mean Obi? Ignoring the inherent logical issues with attempting to use childproofing tactics on an adult, he's the tallest of the five of us, so, you know, not that smart."

Viper shrugged. "You're right. Guess it's just force of habit. Or maybe I was trying to keep it away from your little fox?"

Rin pouted. "Jokes on you, Vipy. Corona would boost me up if I asked, so ha."

Viper looked over to Corona, amused. Corona simply shrugged, absently reaching over to move a lock of hair out of Rin's face. "I would."

Viper chuckled, sitting at the table and leaning back in her chair. The door opened, and Oberon joined them. She saw Raven behind him, but she did not stop to join them, continuing on down the hall.

Oberon looked around, spread hands and raised shoulders indicating inquisitive confusion. "Do I even want to know what we're laughing about?"

"Obi," Viper cried. "Save me, they're doing flirty things."

The masked man covered the lower half of his face in pantomime of shock. "What? The girlfriends are flirting? Consider me appropriately scandalized."

Viper smiled, tossing a spent shell casing at Oberon. "Sure, take their side." Oberon caught the casing, laying it on the table next to him. Viper watched him as she drank. In the two years she had known him, she had never seen him without that mask. She knew what he looked like, for there were pictures of him without it on around the base, but she had never, herself, seen him without it. Personally, she found that suspicious, but, seeing as neither of them seemed to object, she did not pursue the question. He sat down at the table, apparently unconcerned with retrieving food for himself, and crossed his legs. Corona finished preparing her sandwiches, handing one to Rin before turning around to lean back against the counter. Viper, meanwhile, opened the jar of pickles, tilting her head back and dropping it into her mouth, swallowing it whole. Raising her glass, she peered over its top to look at her comrades.

"So, you know I just got back last night, right?" The other three nodded. "Well, I was in Vale."

"How was it?" Rin prompted.

"It was a real shit show, kid. Buildings collapsed, houses burned, looters running rampant. They've been trying to pull themselves together, but..."

"People are terrified." Corona finished. "With Beacon so close, and the Grimm being attracted by the dragon, people are too scared to return."

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"What did Raven have you doing up there anyway?" Rin asked.

"She heard rumors of a sect of The Cult operating in Vale. I was asked to disband it, with prejudice."

Rin grimaced. The Cult of the Witch. The same people who had attacked her village three years ago. She pulled out the bishop piece she had been given to her back then. Oberon had explained that they all had one, and that while they did serve a symbolic purpose, the more important factor was the practical purpose they served. They contained a portion of Raven's aura, meaning that she could track them wherever they went in Remnant. That way, no matter where they were, she could open a portal directly to them, either to retrieve them or to go to their aid. Hers was the bishop, Corona the knight, Viper the rook, and Oberon the queen.

"-that's why I hate working with huntsman, ya know." Viper was saying as Rin focused back on the conversation. "Always so self-righteous, always expecting you to swoon over their rippling muscles like some distressed maiden. And that name, Pirangus Winchester, seriously? I mean, ya sound like a cross between a piranha and a ribeye."

"Yeah," Corona replied with a chuckle. "They do tend to do that. Remind me to tell you sometime about the time I met Raven's brother."

"Hey, girls," Rin said, "anybody see where Oberon went?"

The other two looked around, confused. "Huh," Corona replied. "I didn't even notice he left.

At the other end of the compound, Oberon slipped under the door to Raven's room. He found the woman sitting on her bed, an old photograph in her hand. Her mask was off, lying on a nearby table, and Raven's crimson eyes were filled with barely restrained tears. Oberon did not need to look to know what the picture was of; after all, Raven had only ever taken pictures of one thing. He sat next to the shorter woman, gazing down at the photo. It was a photo of a young, brown haired woman, wearing a white cloak, dancing in firelight, a hand outstretched to the camera as if inviting the viewer to come dance with her.

Oberon wondered just how many photos Raven had taken of Summer, and just how many times she had sat alone like this, crying over her memory. Raven lay her head on his shoulder, and he could see drops of wetness rolling down his jacket.

"It's rude to enter someone's room without knocking." she said quietly, without any real anger. "Or, at the least, opening the door."

"The reason you brought me into this fight is because I can go wherever you need me to. And right now, the place you need me is here, so here I am."

"Smartass."

"Always."